Nanoporous polymer films for extreme low and interlayer dielectrics

Abstract

A process for producing a nanoporous polymer film of no greater than 10 micron thickness having low dielectric constant value, including the steps of: (a) providing a polymer in a solution with at least two solvents for the polymer in which a lowest boiling solvent and a highest boiling solvent have a difference in their respective boiling points of approximately 50° C. or greater; (b) forming a film of the polymer in solution with at least the two solvents on a substrate; (c) removing a predominant amount of the lowest boiling solvent; (d) contacting the film with a fluid which is a non-solvent for the polymer, but which is miscible with the at least two solvents to induce phase inversion in the film; (e) forming an average pore size in the film in the range of less than 30 nanometers. The present invention is also nanoporous films made by the above process.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.